Forget Me Not
by fantasy me
Summary: "Even his instincts couldn't stop him from putting you first, from protecting you." He understood she was having a bad day, and so he patiently endured her harsh words as he drove her back home from work. And then, there came the accident. They both survived, but he lost his memory. He forgot her. Not wanting a stranger for a fiancee, he was going to to cancel the wedding... SS
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura or anything affiliated with it.

Summary: "Even his instincts couldn't stop him from putting you first, from protecting you." He understood she was having a bad day, and so he patiently endured her harsh words as he drove her back home from work. And then, there came the accident. They both survived but he lost his memory. He forgot her. Not wanting a stranger for a fiancee, he would to cancel the wedding. SS

"Tomoyo, didn't I tell you to update the details onto the file I sent last night? Why'd you edit onto the one I sent yesterday morning?" Sakura questioned, trying to restrain herself from shouting at her best friend.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Sakura. I didn't properly check the time you sent the file," Tomoyo apologised, feeling so guilty for messing up.

Sakura sighed in frustration. How could she bring herself to tell her best friend off. Especially when her best friend just wanted to help lighten her work load so she could go off early to celebrate her anniversary dinner with her boyfriend. _"I would have been better off if I did everything myself last night."_ Sakura thought. Now, she would have to work overtime, not only on updating the original file but also cleaning up Tomoyo's errant edits. She could expect a long night ahead in the office.

"Sakura, what are you thinking? Didn't we already discuss everything with the client on Monday? You didn't update the version?" said a furious Meiling, who was working on the same client project. "Thomas is furious and he thinks we're not taking their company seriously." Then she folded her arms. "So, you would rather give us sloppy work so you can skive and hang out with-" Here, her eyes darkened and she spat out his name bitterly. "-Syaoran."

"No I didn't mean to be slipshod-" Sakura tried to defend herself but Meiling had no intention of listening to her. She simply turned and walked away.

"She's exaggerating. Thomas wasn't that angry," Tomoyo said. "I bet she's just trying to seize this opportunity to make things as bad for you as possible. She still isn't over Syaoran. It's even worse that you and Syaoran are engaged, and she has to attend the wedding because she's his cousin-"

Sakura sighed again. "Please don't say anything more, Tomoyo. It's not helping the situation. Let me have some time to myself, please? I need to start re-working on the file asap."

Tomoyo nodded and turned. As she walked away, she heard Sakura scream in frustration. She whipped around and saw that her best friend had accidentally spilled her coffee all over the table and onto the floor.

"Oh my goodness," Tomoyo gasped as she hurried to help clean up. Other colleagues who sat near Sakura also offered tissues.

"This isn't my day," Sakura muttered, mourning the loss of her coffee as well as the extra cleaning up she had to do.

* * *

"In line with the client's requirements-" Sakura read out as she typed the document. She could still feel some parts of her keyboard were sticky from the spilt coffee, but she didn't have time to clean the keyboard for now.

"Hey Sakura..." Tomoyo said shyly, interrupting her.

"Hey." came Sakura's reply, her eyes staying glued to the screen.

"Um, I really don't think I'm fit to say this but if you need help with the edits Sakura-"

"Nah it's fine. Thanks a lot though," Sakura said, trying to smile as genuinely as she could. She didn't want to risk another mistake again or it would be her head on the chopping board. Especially with a team member like Meiling around, who would be more than happy to nitpick on her.

Tomoyo tried to conceal her hurt feelings. "Yea sure, I understand. Well, I'll go off first then. See you tomorrow."

Sakura tried to be upbeat about it. "Yea that's great, see you tomorrow. Have a safe trip home!" All the while, her fingers continued fluttering deftly across the keyboard.

* * *

Pacing up and down anxiously, a certain amber eyed young man was furiously dialling numbers away on his handphone.

"Damn, Tomoyo, pick up!" he muttered, growing more worried by the minute. It all started in the late afternoon, when he decided to call his girlfriend to remind her of their anniversary date, as well as inform her of the venue. She didn't pick up at first, but then he figured maybe she was in a meeting. So he sent her a text message saying that he would pick her up from work at 6pm, the usual time. However, the time came and still he didn't receive a reply. That was when he decided to call up.

No answer. Maybe she's still in a meeting. Waited for 20 minutes. Called again.

No answer. Maybe the meeting's ending soon. Waited for 15 minutes. Called again.

No answer. Maybe the meeting should end in a while. Waited for 10 minutes. Called again.

Still no answer. Something's wrong. Besides, if she had a last minute meeting she would definitely message him, and not ignore his calls. Started calling every 1 to 2 minutes.

Still no answer. Maybe Tomoyo would pick up her phone.

"Hello, Syaoran?" finally came Tomoyo's voice over the phone.

"Oh thank God, Tomoyo, at least I can get through to you," he said.

"Yea, hey I'm sorry, my handphone was on silent and in non-vibration mode. I noticed 5 missed calls from you? Is there an emergency?"

"Yes! Is Sakura still in office now?" he asked, his tone filled with worry and anxiousness. He heard Tomoyo chuckle from the other line. "I should have guessed, only Sakura would be an emergency to you. Well yea, she's still in office. Um... I think she'll be working overtime today. Like, way overtime. And it's all my fault-"

"Oh what's up?" he asked curiously. "She didn't tell me though. This morning she told me she would be able to knock off early so she asked me to make reservations for our dinner date earlier."

"Yea, it's really all my fault, Syaoran." Tomoyo said, her voice filled with guilt. "I totally messed up her work so she needs to do a lot of cleaning up."

" _Okay wow._ _You totally ruined our anniversary date tonight, Tomoyo."_ Syaoran thought inwardly. Of course he couldn't say it honestly, and it would be suicidal to offend her best friend. So he tried to sound forgiving.

"Oh I see. It's okay, Tomoyo, we all make mistakes." But deep down he was really starting to bear a grudge.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry. I just feel so bad about this whole thing. I didn't know you guys were going to celebrate your anniversary together today! Oh man I ruined it, so sorry Syaoran."

Syaoran was definitely nodding in agreement over the phone. But of course he had to be diplomatic. "Don't feel bad about it, besides we can't do anything now. I guess I'll just wait for Sakura to finish her work."

* * *

"Therefore the budget of $5million is reasonable! DONE!" Sakura said in triumph as she typed her last full stop. "Oh finally!"

She excitedly saved the file before squealing, "Okay, I can finally leave now!"

"Oh you're done already?" came a familiar voice. Sakura looked up from her computer.

"Well, took you quite long. I was expecting that you'd be slow but I never knew you would be this inefficient."

Sakura tried not to take offense and proceeded to pack up. It was just her and Meiling left in the office now.

"Anyway, just wanted to say that I cleaned up your mess in half the time you took. And I began working on the next phase. So... I'm done for now."

"Wait, what?" Sakura said in disbelief. "Meiling, why would you do the work that I'm already doing? You could have at least told me so I can work on something else. Then we're not wasting time on the same thing."

"I just feel like it. Why can't I?" came Meiling's defiant reply.

Sakura sighed. "Why do you hate me so much?"

There was a brief moment of silence. And then Meiling spoke. "Aren't you asking the obvious? You stole him from me."

"I didn't! Look, I didn't even know you two were engaged even before you guys were born!"

"Well, you do now. So are you still going to marry him?" Meiling challenged.

Sakura grew silent. Meiling began to walk towards her. She had been bottling up her anger and indignation for so long, and now that only her and Sakura were left alone, she just had to let everything out.

"So, Kinomoto, I've already told you the whole damn truth. Xiao Lang is mine to begin with! We spent our childhood days together, we grew up together, we went through a hell lot of things together, and this dwarves the mere 7 years you've known him. Who are you to take him away from me?"

"I... I..."

"You're the one who wronged me in the first place. I spent my whole life looking so much to my 21st birthday because I knew that would be the time when I could marry him. But heck, you came along and ruined my one and only childhood dream."

"Meiling, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry? Sorry is useless if you're still going to marry him. Look, you're doing such a huge disservice to me, the way I'm treating you now is not even sufficient to get back at the hurt and loss you've caused me for life!"

The more Meiling spoke, the more emotional she got. By now, she was standing right in front of Sakura. Sakura backed away in fear.

"Meiling, I didn't mean to hurt you. I really didn't," Sakura said weakly. She was never aware Syaoran had meant the world to his cousin.

"You know what's the worst part? Yelan and the elders demand that I attend his wedding, because after all, it's the wedding of the clan leader. The day he gets married turns out to be the worst day of my life. And it's all because of you!" Emotions finally got the better of her, as she raised her hand to slap Sakura.

"Li Meiling!"

Just at the nick of time, Sakura heard his voice cry out to her defense, as he grabbed the hand of her attacker. And at that very moment, she suddenly no longer felt intimidated by Meiling anymore. His voice was reassuring to her.

"Syaoran!" Meiling gasped in shock as her cousin grabbed her wrist with an iron grip. He stood protectively in front of Sakura, his amber eyes blazing in anger.

"I'm appalled, Meiling! That you could treat Sakura so horribly, and say such false and accusing things to her. You know it's not her fault," he shouted. "What you're going through has nothing to do with her. Not at all. It's entirely my fault. I'm the one who ruined your life." he said emphatically.

By now, Meiling was beginning to sob.

"Look, I... I'm sorry," Syaoran said, his tone softening. "I'm so sorry. I've let you down." He let go his grip of her hand.

"G-Go away from me!" Meiling shouted, tears streaming down her eyes. "Both of you, get out of here!"

"Meiling..." Sakura said, her voice full of sympathy.

"I don't want to see you! Go!" Meiling shouted fiercely at her. Syaoran quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her away, out of the office. From the distance, Sakura could hear Meiling sob bitterly. There was just so much pent up feelings, so much venting that Meiling needed to get out of her system.

* * *

"Sorry." Syaoran finally broke the silence as the two of them sat quietly in the car. "About Meiling."

"It's fine," Sakura replied, resting her head against the window and closing her eyes. After a long day at work and the drama with Meiling earlier, she just felt exhausted.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Syaoran asked, concerned. "Are you getting a migraine again?"

"No I'm fine. Just drive on," came Sakura's curt reply.

There was brief silence as Syaoran drove on, before he broke it. "So... we still haven't celebrated our anniversary."

"Oh. Yea." Sakura mumbled tiredly.

"Well, I think the restaurant probably gave up on our reservation hours ago. But if you still want to go there, I'll call them up. Last order's at 10 so we can still make it in time," Syaoran suggested. "Or do you feel like going somewhere else?"

Sakura sighed. "Anywhere's fine with me."

"You sure? Even if we go to macs and celebrate?" he asked teasingly.

"Syaoran, can you let me have some peace and quiet?" Sakura snapped. Her annoyance soon subsided into guilt as silence filled the car.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry at you," she said. "I just... I just feel kind of overwhelmed today."

Syaoran gave a gentle smile. "Yea I get you. It's fine, I totally understand."

"Also," Sakura added. "I'm sorry but I'm really tired. Can we celebrate tomorrow?"

Syaoran's eyes darted to the rear mirror, where he could see the reflection of the present he had prepared for her specially for the occasion. Well, he would give it tomorrow then.

"Yea sure," He said, trying to hide his disappointment. "And don't apologise, I think a rest would help you a lot too. I'll drive you home now. You can close your eyes and rest first. I'll wake you up when we reach."

There was no reply. He turned to face her, only to realise that she had already fallen asleep. He smiled to himself. Seeing her asleep made him think of his high school days with her, when they were still classmates. He often caught her falling asleep in class, which was one of the main reasons why she didn't do very well. Nearing the examination period, she would always ask him if he could tutor her, which wasn't surprising given his stellar academic results. That was how their friendship blossomed, from mere classmates to good friends. Eventually, the more he knew her, the more he realised he liked her, to the point that it was beyond that of a normal friendship. But he wouldn't confess to her yet, not until he saw that she was ready to accept him as more than a friend. He knew for certain that she only saw him as a good friend, nothing more. And so, he patiently waited, until two years had passed.

His train of thoughts were disrupted by his handphone ringing. He gave a brief glance down at the screen, which showed "Meiling". Putting on his earphones, he answered the call.

"Hey," he said. From the other end, he could hear sniffling. "Meiling, are you alright?"

"I can't believe you just took Sakura and left me alone there," came his cousin's voice.

"But now, after reflecting, I guess that what's you done to me these past few years, haven't you? We were together all along, and then one fine day you decided you had enough of me and went after her," she went on.

"Meiling, are you drinking?"

"Hush! Let me speak!" she shouted over the phone. "You know what? Y-You know what, Xiao Lang? I've thought it through. And... And it breaks my heart to say this to you. But it's what I've concluded after all my reflection. Listen well, you didn't ditch me. I ditched you. I'm not going to be engaged to someone like you. I'm glad our engagement is off! I'm not going to waste anymore time on you!"

"Meiling, you're drunk. Where are you?"

"I'm not drunk! You listen to me! I'm not done yet!"

That was when he became too caught up with the conversation that he forgot to observe his surroundings, failing to notice that the traffic light for his road had turned red. Most importantly, he failed to realise that there was a lorry driving across from the opposite road at high speed.

Sounding his horn furiously, the lorry driver hastened to reduce his speed. The honking finally got hold of Syaoran's attention to the incoming vehicle.

"Shit!" he cussed at the dangerously close proximity of the two vehicles. At that very moment, he knew an accident was inevitable. His eyes briefly glanced to Sakura, who was seated on his right, and he speedily steered his car to the right as hard as he could.

* * *

"Xiao Lang! Xiao Lang!" Meiling screamed over the phone, trying to get a response from her cousin. All she heard were the sounds of car horns, followed by a loud collision sound.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura or anything affiliated with it.

A matronly woman anxiously paced up and down the hallway leading to the operating theatre. "Oh God, please let him be alright," she prayed repeatedly under her breath, clasping her fingers in a bid to make her pious pleas. Seated near her were four elderly men dressed in traditional Chinese garments.

The oldest of them, Elder Shin, who clutched his jade walking stick, remained the most stoic. Yet beneath that sombre look he had been smoking from his tobacco pipe since the time he arrived, an activity he took to as a coping mechanism for his anxiety. He was a man of few words, and one who held on strongly to his principles.

"The hospital staff have been in there for the longest time," said one of the elderly men, the youngest but also the most hot-tempered, Elder Yong. "Are they so inefficient?"

"It's a major operation, let us give them more time. The least we want to do is rush them through their work," came the calm reply of the elderly seated next to him, Elder Shang. He was the most logical of the four, but also the most practical. Which meant that he would always go for the option that gave the most benefits, even to the extent of disregarding "irrational things" such as friendship and kinship.

"It must be _her_ fault. If she hadn't made Xiao Lang drive her around, he wouldn't have been in this state!" came the accusing remark of Elder Wu. He was the elder who objected the most vehemently when he learnt that Syaoran and Sakura had gotten together. A very traditional man who believed in arranged marriages, he was the one who arranged for Syaoran's and Meiling's marriage before they were even born.

After what seemed like forever, the group of surgeons finally emerged from the operating theatre.

"Doctor, how is he? How is my son?" the woman asked anxiously as she grasped the shoulder of the chief surgeon, Doctor Yabekawa. He took off his mask and gave an assuring nod. "Li Xiao Lang is out of the critical stage."

The woman heaved a huge sigh of relief as she stumbled against the wall behind. "Thank God, thank God!" she said, resting her palm on her chest.

"Your team will be well compensated for this," Elder Shin said, emptying his tobacco pipe. "The Li Clan is indebted to you. I cannot imagine what might possibly happen if Xiao Lang were to be operated on by a group of surgeons less experienced than your team. I will raise this matter to the Medical Association as testimony of your skills."

The surgeons bowed. "Thank you, Li Shin. It was only our duty," said Doctor Yabekawa. "My greatest gratitude goes to Li Shang, who gave us the honour and the golden opportunity to render our services to the highly esteemed leader of the Li Clan."

Elder Shang gave a grim smile.

 _*Flashback*_

 _"He's in a critical condition! Quick, begin the operation! Also, get the nurses to bring extra packets of blood for the blood transfusion asap. His injuries are major and there is heavy bleeding from his neck," Doctor Yabekawa shouted. It was an elderly man who was rushed into the Accident and Emergency unit by the paramedics. He was hit by a speeding car and sustained fatal injuries._

 _"HURRY! We need to be fast!" Doctor Yabekawa barked at the team as they rushed into the operating theatre. Just as the doors were about to close for the operation, someone called out his name._

 _"Doctor Yabekawa!" came a familiar voice. It was a voice that boomed authority and power. A voice that the chief surgeon could not ignore at all costs._

 _"Li Shang," Doctor Yabekawa said, bowing as Elder Shang approached him._

 _"I tried to get you scheduled for an operation this instant, but the nurse had the audacity to tell me you were not available," Elder Shang began. His eyes darted to the inside of the operating theatre, where the injured old man lay struggling for dear life._

 _"I am so sorry, Li Shang but I told the nurse to block me from any surgeries appointments until I am done with operating on this current patient. He is in a very grave condition and needs urgent attention," Doctor Yabekawa said, trying to put across the urgency of the matter politely._

 _Elder Shang gave a grim smile. "Doctor Yabekawa, I understand your time is most important now. You will appreciate that the leader of the Li Clan also lies in the next operating theatre in critical condition, and requires your skills and attention much more than that man lying inside."_

 _"Y-You want me to stop operating on this patient right now? Butl-"_

 _"I simply want you to transfer him to another team of surgeons, let them take care of him. The Li Clan will compensate you five times the surgery fees you will receive from operating on that man." Elder Shang said. "Now please come with me to the next operating theatre."_

 _*End of flashback*_

"Dad, Dad, she's regaining consciousness!"

Fujitaka rushed over to the bed where his daughter lay. Her eyelids seemed to move, before slowly fluttering open.

"Sakura!" He happily called out her name. "Touya, quick, get the doctor here!"

Sakura stared back. "D-Dad?" She said, grimacing as her senses slowly came back to life and the full impact of the huge wound at her forehead began to throb painfully.

"Hey, lay down! The doctor will be here shortly to look at you. Don't move, it may aggravate your wounds," Fujitaka said. A few seconds later, the doctor appeared at the doorway with Touya.

Touya sat down next to Fujitaka while the doctor began to inspect Sakura's condition. He had a huge scowl on his face and was evidently not pleased.

"Now what's bothering you? Aren't you happy your sister has regained consciousness?" Fujitaka asked in a soft voice.

"Well. It's just two of us here looking after Sakura this past two days. Whatever happened to the Li family? It's as if they forgot completely about Sakura," Touya began angrily. "Not even a call or a text from that brat or his family asking her how she is. If this is the kind of people I'm gonna entrust Sakura to, this incident has seriously made me reconsider my decision."

Fujitaka sighed. "Don't pass your judgment on them so fast. Syaoran's also seriously injured, from what Tomoyo told me. They also have to look after Syaoran."

"Well, it's pathetic how we get news about him from Tomoyo! And at least we tried calling Yelan yesterday, but she didn't answer us. In the same vein, I would at least expect them to call us back too to find out about Sakura."

"What did you say? Syaoran's seriously injured?" came Sakura's weak voice, but evidently packed with worry and anxiety. She struggled to prop herself up but was too weak.

"Sakura, you're in serious condition yourself. Take care of yourself first," Touya replied as he tried to settle his sister down.

"No, please Touya, I need to know how is Syaoran!" Sakura said, grabbing onto Touya's arm. "He was with me too in the collision! I-I remember sitting next to him in the car, and then there was a flash of light, followed by a loud noise... coming from Syaoran's side of the car! He must be in graver condition than me!" she recounted, her eyes beginning to water.

"Miss Kinomoto, please avoid exerting yourself. You need ample rest to recover fast," the doctor pleaded. Then he turned to Touya and Fujitaka. "She's in stable condition now, but needs to be warded for further observation. In the meantime I will prescribe her some antibiotics to prevent infections from her wounds, and also some ointment for her external wounds. Please also ensure she avoids getting agitated and gets as much rest as possible."

"I'll come back here and rest after I see how Syaoran is doing," Sakura said.

"Sakura, he's fine and out of the danger zone," Fujitaka said assuringly, trying to get her at ease. "He's just sleeping now in the hospital because he went through a big surgery. But when I last saw him this morning, he looked quite energetic, and he kept asking how you were!"

Touya sweatdropped. "Dad..." he said under his breath. "Sakura overheard our conversation just now... She knows you're fibbing this up."

Sakura was in tears now. "No Dad, I know you didn't get to see Syaoran. I... I need to see for myself that he's fine!"

She tried to get up, but every single muscle in her body was aching. Her forehead continued to throb painfully.

"Sakura, please lie down!" Fujitaka pleaded. "Look, I'll go and find out from Yelan how Syaoran is, and bring back news to you, okay? In the meanwhile please take care of yourself too, that's what Syaoran would want you to do!" Deep down inside, he tried to figure out how he could even get into contact with the Li family in the first place. Because they did not revert his calls, he had not had any chance to communicate with them at all, let alone find out which hospital Syaoran was staying. He could only guess that Syaoran must have been warded at Tomoeda Hospital, the top hospital in the area.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo's voice rang through the room.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura said as her friend ran over and hugged her.

"Oh thank God you've regained consciousness now! I was so so worried about you!" Tomoyo said. "Oh my gosh, you've got a huge bandage on your forehead! What did the doctor say about you?"

"She's in stable condition now, she just needs to be warded for observation," Fujitaka replied. "Thank you for your concern, Tomoyo."

"Tomoyo, do you know how Syaoran is doing?" Sakura asked anxiously. "My family and I haven't heard anything from his family..."

"I haven't heard anything first-hand from them either, Sakura," Tomoyo answered, her smile fading. "But Yamazaki did give me updates when he visited Syaoran this morning. Apparently he was in a highly critical condition when he was brought to the operating room, and underwent intensive surgery the whole night. Thankfully the surgery was a success in saving his life. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, but he's in stable condition now."

Sakura heaved a huge sigh of relief and rested against her pillows. "He's fine..." she muttered under her breath, smiling. "He's fine..."

"See, Touya, it's not that Syaoran doesn't want to contact us about Sakura. It's because he was in a worse condition to begin with, and is still unconscious even now," Fujitaka said.

Touya nodded. "Well, that still doesn't excuse his family. The least they could have done was to text us to find out about Sakura. I'm seriously worrying for Sakura's happiness with that kind of family after she gets married."

Tomoyo stood up to face Touya and Fujitaka with a gentle smile on her face. "Don't worry for Sakura's happiness, Touya and Mr Kinomoto," she said confidently. "Syaoran will make sure she lives well with him. I know the Li family are not exactly a nice bunch of people to interact with. Trust me, I've had my fair share of culture shocks with his family's hospitality when Syaoran invited the gang over to his house on a few occasions. But even then, I know he will protect Sakura and make sure they treat her as part of the family."

* * *

"So, she is in stable condition and has regained consciousness?"

"Yes, Elder Shin. According to the national database, that is what was recorded for Kinomoto Sakura's condition update as of this afternoon."

Elder Wu tossed the medical report aside. He turned to the remaining elders and Yelan, and then spoke accusingly, "Look at how Xiao Lang was left struggling for dear life on the night of the accident, and now he has yet to regain consciousness. Meanwhile his Japanese fiancee is up and active! If she had cared just one bit about Xiao Lang, she would be expending her energy to come here to see him!"

"One thing that puzzles me though..." began Elder Shang, "is the fact that despite being seated at the same car at the scene of the accident, why is it what Xiao Lang is in a much more severe condition than Kinomoto Sakura. It is as if he bore the full brunt of the accident impact."

"Obviously he has, Shang. Didn't you hear what the traffic police officer said yesterday? The lorry was driving from the opposite direction and crashed into his side of the car," came Elder Wu's remark. "And I don't understand why you are mulling so much over that."

"Humans are born with instincts, and these instincts are meant to protect them in times of danger." Elder Shang explained. "Now, suppose at the scene of the accident, Xiao Lang and Sakura are seated in the car when a lorry comes from the opposite direction. As the driver, you see that it is approaching your vehicle at high speed, and a crash is imminent. What is your first reaction?"

"Obviously I would steer my vehicle away from the lorry as hard as I could to avoid the collision." came Elder Yong's reply.

"In which direction?" probed Elder Shang.

"Naturally I would steer to my left."

"Why the left?" Elder Shang asked on.

Elder Yong rolled his eyes. "Because the driver's seat is on the left. I don't need to think at all, Shang. By instinct, I would just steer my vehicle to the left. That's what everyone would do. Is this explanation easy enough for you to understand?"

Elder Shang nodded. "Exactly, Yong. That is where I am stuck at."

He took out the pictures of the accident scene, many of them showing the wreckage to Syaoran's car. "If you look at Xiao Lang's car, it is evident the lorry crashed into his side of the car. Which must mean that he steered to his right instead of his left, causing the lorry to crash into him! But what I cannot comprehend, is why he would do such a foolish thing!"

There was silence in the hospital room as the elders all turned to look at an unconscious Syaoran.

"It's because of her," came the ominous reply of Elder Wu.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura or anything affiliated with it.

"This is driving me crazy!" Sakura let out in exasperation as she paced up and down.

"Sakura, calm down. It's not doing your health any good to be so emotional," Fujitaka said.

"I can't, Dad!" she said frantically. "It's already been a week and still we haven't heard anything from Syaoran's family. He also hasn't been replying my texts!" she exclaimed, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Do you think it's because the worst has happened? I... I'm so afraid Syaoran... he's-" She avoided saying those ominous words. "I'll make a trip personally down to the Li mansion. Someone there has to tell me something!"

"I'm sure Syaoran is doing fine," Fujitaka said reassuringly, trying to sound as convincing as he could. Deep down, however, he also wondered the same. Did his future son-in-law make it?

"Those arrogant Li people," Touya scowled. "I'm disgusted that they haven't even responded one bit to our calls or texts. Yesterday I managed to get through to Yelan's phone but she told me she was busy in a meeting and hung up. I'm sure that means her precious son is alive, but it also means they don't care to update us one bit about his condition. They don't even see us as family!"

"Touya, you're not making things better," Fujitaka said. Then he turned to Sakura. "Sakura, I'll make a trip down to the Li mansion today. I'll make sure I find out everything you want to know about Syaoran. On your part, just stay here so you can recuperate fast. Here, I'll turn on the tv and we'll watch some news."

"And now, some updates on the economy," began the news broadcaster. "Stock prices are beginning to pick up, a sure sign that investor confidence is slowly being restored in the market. Analysts opine that this is could be influenced by the recent slew of happenings at the mega conglomerate Li Corp, which has wide-reaching dealings in many major industries. A few days ago, the newly appointed CEO, Syaoran Li, was reported to have been in a car crash and fatally injured, to the point of being on the brink of death. This was soon followed by a huge tumble in stock prices, especially for Li Corp. However, having regained consciousness just two days ago, and showing rapid signs of recovery since, a spokesperson for the conglomerate has reassured investors that Syaoran Li will be able to resume his post by next Monday without issues."

"Syaoran... He's fine!" Sakura heaved a huge sigh of relief, a wide smile spreading across her face. She excitedly turned to her father and brother. "He's fine! He's recovering well! I'm so glad to hear that!"

Fujitaka nodded happily. "Yes, yes! I'm so glad to hear that too. I told you he would be fine, Sakura!"

Touya, however, was not happy one bit. "This is ridiculous!" he said angrily. "How ridiculous is it that the whole wide world knows that Syaoran has recovered except for his fiancee and her family? Sakura, are you sure this is the kind of family you want to marry into? Seems like they forgot you even exist!"

Deep down, Sakura was feeling hurt as well. Touya was right, the entire Li family completely disregarded her existence. How ironic it was that she, Syaoran Li's fiancee, seemed to be the last person in the world to know that he was recovering well and about to resume work soon? It wasn't a nice feeling to know that her mother-in-law had been ignoring her texts, and then to see her on television news busily typing away on her handphone and happily telling the reporters that her precious son was recuperating well at Tomoeda hospital, in the VVIP ward.

But that wasn't the worst. The worst part was to know that her fiance had regained consciousness two days ago, but yet he was also ignoring her calls and texts. Moreover, she didn't know he was the newly appointed CEO of Li Corp! When did it happen? And more importantly, why didn't he tell her?

 _"Does he really love me?"_ said a voice inside her. Never had Sakura felt so disregarded and forgotten before. Especially by Syaoran.

A wave of determination poured over her. She would visit him today to find out.

* * *

"Are you sure he is in good shape to resume work?" Yelan asked concernedly. "In my opinion he is not in the right condition at all."

"Are you questioning my decision, Yelan?" Elder Shang asked in an ominous tone.

"I dare not, Elder Shang."

"No, I agree with her," Elder Shin said. "I too feel that Xiao Lang needs to recuperate for a longer period. Work can wait. And with us at the helm of the Board, there is not much to worry about."

"Pardon me, Shin, but I must disagree with you. Unfortunately our shareholders and investors do not see things in this way," Elder Shang replied. "The longer Xiao Lang's absence as CEO, the worse it will be for our stock prices. And with several major projects on our hand, we cannot afford to lose investor confidence."

"I still feel that we must prioritise Xiao Lang's health. There is no point forcing him to work at the expense of his complete recovery," Elder Wu added.

"You underestimate the heir of the Li Clan then," chimed in Elder Yong. "Xiao Lang is a young and strong lad, he can take it!"

"You seem to be having unrealistic expectations of him then!"

An argument was about to ensue when finally, a weak but resolute voice shouted, "I'm fine! I can go back to work. Everyone please calm down."

The elders and Yelan turned to face a pale and exhausted looking Syaoran.

"I'm much better than yesterday, so I believe by Monday I'll be fit for work," he said assuringly. Then he turned to his mother, "I'm fine, Yelan. Please don't worry about me."

Yelan gave a pained expression but tried to force out a smile. "Yes, Xiao Lang. I know you will get better. You always recover fast from your injuries since you were young."

She hesitated, before continuing through watery eyes. "Also, call me Mum. You've been calling me that your whole life."

"Yes Ye- I mean, Mum." Syaoran said, trying to pronounce the word "Mum" as naturally as he could. The four elderly man had been addressing this lady as "Yelan" that all he now knew was that her name was "Yelan". But that wasn't how it should be for him. She was his mother.

In the back of his mind, Syaoran tried to register the identities of all these people in front of him as quickly as he could. Mother, and esteemed elders of a privileged Clan that he too belonged to. These were people he was supposed to be familiar with; these were people who were his family.

"Meiling is on the way," Elder Wu said as he read his phone. "She's also brought along some tonic soup for Xiao Lang to aid his recovery. She spent the whole morning brewing it."

"That's very sweet of her," Elder Shin said. Then he turned to Syaoran. "Xiao Lang, do you remember Meiling?"

Syaoran thought hard, then shook his head. "Sorry, I can't remember her as well."

"Don't worry about it, you'll get to see her later," Elder Shin replied. "She's your cousin. You grew up with her."

"Is that so? We must be very close then."

"Yes you two are," Elder Wu added. "In fact, you were engaged to her before you two were even born!"

"Engaged?" Syaoran repeated thoughtfully. "You mean I'm going to marry her then?"

There was a brief moment of silence across the room as surprise filled the expressions of Yelan and the Elders. It seemed like Syaoran had also forgotten he was engaged to a certain someone else.

"Xiao Lang, do you remember who you're currently engaged to?" Yelan asked.

"Oh, you mean I'm currently engaged to someone else now? Not Meiling" he asked back, extremely curious.

Everyone's look of surprise was now one of utter shock.

"Well, you're currently engaged to your high school sweetheart," Yelan replied. "Her name is-"

"Quiet!" Elder Wu interrupted. He had a cunning glint in his eyes as a smile formed over his crooked lips.

"Didn't I say it clearly just now? You and Meiling were engaged before you two were born. So what do you think?"

Syaoran scratched his head. "So... Meiling is also my high school sweetheart? She's my fiancee?"

Elder Wu smiled. "If that's how you connect the dots-"

"What?" Elder Shin exclaimed, cutting Elder Wu off. "No, no, no! This is not how things are to be done! I disagree! No matter how much we prefer Meiling to her, we cannot do this! It is not right!"

"Good evening, Mrs Li and fellow Elders, a lady named Li Meiling is here to visit. Can I grant her access?" the head nurse said through the intercom.

"Yes, please," Elder Wu said. Shortly after, the door opened and an excited Meiling burst in.

"Xiao Lang!" she screamed excitedly as she dashed over to give her cousin a big tight hug. "Xiao Lang, I was so worried about you! It didn't help that I was away on a business trip the past few days and couldn't see your condition personally. But I'm so glad to see you are fine now! How are you feeling?"

Syaoran politely tried to break out of the hug. This girl was suffocating him!

"I'm fine," he replied, avoiding her intense stares. Now, from a bout of excitement and happiness, this girl seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Oh thank goodness, I'm so damn relieved to see that you are alright!" she said emotionally. "I was so worried, and more than that, I have been plagued with guilt ever since the accident! I just couldn't have a good night's sleep-"

"Wait, what?" Yelan cut Meiling off. "Meiling, why would you feel guilty over Syaoran's accident? It's not like you caused it."

Meiling gasped. They didn't know! And they couldn't. Then she looked at Syaoran. Didn't he tell everything? Or was he trying to protect her?

Syaoran squirmed uncomfortably as Meiling stared intensely at him again. "Um, okay is there something on my face? Because I'm not used to people looking at me this way," he said.

Meiling was now confused. There was something very strange about her cousin right now. What happened?

"Oh, I think I forgot to update you, Meiling," Elder Wu said. "Xiao Lang has also lost his memory. He has forgotten us all."

"What?" she exclaimed. "He lost his memory?"

A feeling of pain overcame her. Her cousin had lost his memory! That meant he also forgot everything about her - she was like a stranger to him now. The mere thought of this cut her to the heart.

But then again, if he had lost his memory, it also meant that... he also forgot that she had called him at the time of the accident!

A huge wave of relief now swept over her. No one would find out then, especially the elders! If they did, man would she be in deep shit. And Syaoran, he would probably hate her for it.

"Good evening, Mrs Li and fellow Elders, another lady named Kinomoto Sakura is here to visit. Can I grant her access?" came the head nurse from the intercom again.

Meiling's heart sank at the mention of Sakura's name.

"As his fiancee, we should let her visit Xiao Lang," Elder Shin said.

"I agree," Yelan added. "I did not find the time to update her and her family of Xiao Lang's conditions and hospital location. But the fact that she has managed to find her way here has impressed me, and she deserves to see him."

"For the sake of Xiao Lang's health, I disagree. There are enough visitors for Xiao Lang today," Elder Wu said. "It must be very tiring for him to keep having to meet new people and remembering them. Let her see him another day. Tell Miss Kinomoto Sakura that he is not in the condition to accept visitors now."

"Elder Wu, you are going too far in this," Elder Shin said.

"Everyone, look! Xiao Lang seems to be in pain now!" Meiling panicked.

Syaoran was now holding his head and grimacing in pain.

"Xiao Lang! What's happening?" Yelan asked anxiously. "Quick, call the doctor over!"

"I-I don't know..." he replied. "But that name, Kinomoto Sakura, it's making me think of something... but at the same time nothing comes to mind. I think it's giving me a slight headache."

"Look, if the mere mention of her name is causing him such trouble, maybe we just should not let her visit. I cannot imagine what will happen if he sees her," Elder Wu said.

"Isn't it a good thing though? That he's recalling something?" said Elder Shin.

"Xiao Lang, do you want to meet Kinomoto Sakura?" asked Elder Shang. Much as he did not like Sakura, what Elder Shin said was right. And if he had to prioritise, he would want Syaoran to regain his memory back.

Syaoran sat up as the throbbing at the back of his head grew stronger.

 _Kinomoto Sakura... that name sounds so familiar... but what about it? Why is it causing my memory to have such a reaction?_ he thought.

"I... I would like to meet her some other day, but not now," he said. "Maybe as I recover more, this damn headache will stop and I can meet her then."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Miss Kinomoto, but Mr Li has just told me that he would prefer to meet you another time," the head nurse said apologetically. She looked at Sakura's pale and exhausted face and felt sorry that she had to reject this girl access.

"Mr Li? You mean Syaoran Li?" Sakura asked, hoping it was one of the Li Elders instead who was turning her away.

"Yes, Mr Syaoran Li just spoke to me to say that he would prefer to meet you another time," she replied.

Sakura stumbled back against the wall. "S-Syaoran doesn't want to see me?" she stammered.

"Miss Kinomoto, are you okay? You can rest at our visitors lounge first before making your way out," the head nurse said.

Sakura managed a weak smile, although she was clearly distraught. "No thanks, it's okay. I guess I'll go back now."

* * *

"Thank you all for coming," Yelan said, bowing down as the Elders stood up.

"We will visit again tomorrow to see his condition," Elder Shin said. "Also, Yelan, don't go back home too late. You need some rest yourself. You've been staying here the past few days."

"Yes, Aunt Yelan," Meiling added. "I'll take over from here to look after Xiao Lang. You look very haggard, please go home and get a good night's sleep."

Yelan managed a faint smile. "That's so sweet of you Meiling. I really appreciate that."

Elder Wu laughed heartily. "Xiao Lang, you are now in the best of hands."

With that, the Elders and Yelan proceeded to leave, with Meiling walking them to the door.

"I'm really fine, you know. You can go back as well," Syaoran said as she closed the door.

"Nah, I'm fine with staying here," Meiling replied as she walked over to get a glass of water for her cousin. "By the way, you need to keep yourself hydrated."

Syaoran smiled back. "Thanks. But I'm totally fine. You don't have to stay here overnight. I feel bad being a burden to you-"

Meiling instinctively put her finger over his lips. "Shush, don't say that! I'm more than happy to watch out over you." And then suddenly realising that the tip of her finger was resting against his lips, she quickly retracted her hand.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," she apologised, blushing hard.

"Oh. Um, it's okay," Syaoran said in an attempt to brush it off, seeing that she was very embarassed. "I mean, after all, we're engaged."

"What?!" Meiling exclaimed loudly, her eyes wide in shock.

"I-I'm sorry, did I get it wrong?" Syaoran asked back. "I clearly remembered that Elder Wu- I hope I got his name right- say that we're engaged. But you seem really surprised to hear that. So I guess I must have misheard him."

Meiling seemed speechless for awhile, only staring back at him in surprise.

"Wait... So Elder Wu told you we're engaged? What about the other elders? And Yelan? Did they mention anything else? In particular any other girl?"

Syaoran thought hard. "They didn't say anything, nor did they mention any girl."

Meiling seemed to sink into contemplation, leaving Syaoran wondering if he was under the wrong impression of their current relationship. So was he right to say that they were engaged?

"Anyway," he continued, seeing that the current topic of conversation seemed to only hang in the air in silence, "I'm really curious about that person, Kinomoto Sakura. Do you know anything about her?"

He watched Meiling's brows furrow together as a scowl spread across her face.

"Oh... her," she said. "Well, what do you recall about her?"

"The thing is, I feel like I know a lot about her. But when I try to think about it, nothing comes to mind. And it's giving me a headache."

Meiling folded her arms. "I think the headache is probably because you're exhausted, rather than it being connected to a memory of her. If you can't even remember your own mother, I'm not surprised you can't remember her too. Anyway, you should get some rest now."

Although he was quite weak physically, his intuition was still sharp as ever. Judging from Meiling's reaction and words, Syaoran knew at once that she wasn't willing to explain who this certain Kinomoto Sakura was exactly. In fact, if he would hazard a guess, he would think that Meiling was responding purely out of jealousy. But this must mean that Kinomoto Sakura must be...

"Xiao Lang, are you okay?"

Meiling's voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Oh, yes," he replied. "Anyway, I'm feeling kind of bored here. Do you think we can go outside for a walk?"

"Oh, sure! Wait here, I'll go downstairs to borrow a wheelchair. The doctor says you should avoid walking or standing for too long periods at least until tomorrow."

"Sorry to trouble you."

"Nah, it's my pleasure to bring you out for a stroll. Fresh air is good for you too," Meiling said.

Syaoran waited for her to leave before reaching into the drawer adjacent to his bed. It then struck him that he had just sent his fiancee out so that he could sneak out his handphone, in a bid to find out more about this Kinomoto Sakura.

"Why am I acting like this?" he muttered to himself.

Well, he hadn't had time to wonder. He was more interested in finding out who this person was. He was even more curious when he realised that it wasn't just Meiling, but in fact the Elders as well. If his gut instincts were right, Kinomoto Sakura should be someone he was very close to, so he could expect to have texts from her. He would go through their text history and whatever information he could get about her from his handphone.

* * *

Yet another sigh escaped from her lips.

"Why am I hesitating to even send him a text?" she wondered aloud as her fingers hovered over the "Send" button. Before today's string of events, she was really beginning to question if her fiance wanted at all to contact her to find out how she was, and to also assure her he was well. And after what she experienced today at Tomoeda Hospital, she was sure that he didn't. She even began to wonder if he loved her.

But... why?

"Why propose to me then?" she said as she stared at her calendar. Just two weeks down, where a huge circle was, was written with capitalise letters "BIG DAY".

She looked down with watery eyes. Well, she sure didn't feel like that day would ever come.

Without realising, she rested her thumb against her handphone screen, accidentally pressing the "Send" Buttton:

 _Can we talk for a while?_

She gasped as she watched her message being sent over Whatsapp. Like all the previous messages, it registered two ticks, but the ticks never turned blue. She waited with baited breath to see if he would ever come online.

And then suddenly, her phone screen changed. The words "No number" flashed across the screen - an anonymous caller. Somehow, her gut feeling told her this was the call she had been waiting for. Heart palpitating, she answered the call.

"Syaoran?" she said, something telling her she was addressing the right guy.

There was an audible gasp from the other end, the caller being obviously taken aback.

"Sakura, is that you?" came that familiar voice she had been longing to hear the whole week.


End file.
